Just as the Tribune stands up for underdogs, the storytellers we honor with the Algren Awards for short fiction are literary warriors on our emotional and intellectual frontlines. They tell the stories that find truth in the lies we tell ourselves to keep on living.

Good fiction doesn't necessarily reflect the headlines of a daily newspaper, but it reminds us that every act of putting word to page — whether it is as mundane as a shopping list, a school-enrollment form or a credit-card application — is a narrative with its own point of view.

Behind every bit of breaking news -- any act of random violence or kindness -- there are countless stories. Imagination compels us to find those stories that elude media glare, but often what seems to be an obvious story is complex, nuanced and can be told with literary style. When a faceless pontificator talks in cliches in a manner that obscures reality, the literature of empathy and imagination reminds us that even the most vapid and shallow among us have a story -- if we can tell it.

The Algren Awards, like the Tribune's Heartland Prizes and lifetime achievement award, are an affirmation of the importance of fiction in a society that never seems to tire of hearing the most outrageous rumor parading as fact or watching the latest so-called reality television show that is entirely constructed and unreal. In naming our award for Nelson Algren, we embrace the idea of the story as a transformative force in society and celebrate Chicago's influence on literature.

The Tribune has sponsored the awards since 1986, and while we are proud to have played a part in helping to launch the careers of writers such as Louise Erdrich and Julia Glass, these awards go beyond their talented recipients. With this contest, we not only express support and enthusiasm for the good, hard work done in literature today, but also our appreciation for how literature enriches everything we do.

This year's contest attracted more than 800 submissions, and the stories were carefully considered in an elaborate process dedicated to fairness. There is no entry fee, and judges do not see the writers' names until the winners have been selected. Previous judges have included George Plimpton, Studs Terkel and Eudora Welty. This year's winners were selected by a trio of prominent fiction writers: Peter Ho Davies, Sam Lipsyte and Margot Livesey.

We congratulate our winners: for first prize, Baird Harper ("My Thoughts While Cooling Down on the Hotel Veranda") and three finalists, in alphabetical order: Viet Thanh Nguyen ("The Americans"), Ian Schimmel ("What Is Known") and Joan Wilking ("Deer Season").

Chicago-based publisher Curbside Splendor is accepting submissions through March 31. Submissions of poetry, art, photography and short fiction for the publisher's monthly e-magazine are free. Book submissions cost $10.